My 71 Duster work in progress

It just keeps getting better and better

I got one taken apart but can't get it put back together. It just flat out does not squeeze the valve down far enough for both keepers to drop in. One - yes. Second one - no. I've put it half way together and back apart 4 or 5 times now, nothing I've tried helps.

Note how it's not compressed much farther than the installed height.

1691101539132.png

I noticed when I went to put it back together than I had to loosen the thing up to get it fit with the expanded spring. So I lost the difference between installed and not installed height and there's no way to make it up that I can think of.

Woot.
 
OK I got it to work. My hands hurt. 6 done, 10 to go.

Whatever that wire looking piece was, it fell out when I took the valve out because it was there before I took it apart and was gone after. There was a little bit of brass and less alum bits here and there, but probably not enough to hurt anything. That wire could've caused a problem though, being stuck between the valve and the seat like it was.
 
I managed to screw up a valve guide and/or valve. I was giving them the good old whack to loosen the keepers up and one popped apart That was a rush, but after cleaning that one up and putting it back together I noticed half a keeper on the valve next to it had popped loose and was cocked.

Being an amateur I didn't think about damage to the valve but there are a couple of little nicks on it above the groove, and since I didn't look before shoving the valve out, those nicks scored the guide and now it's is too tight on the valve.

I guess at least the guide needs honed and maybe replaced. The nicks on the valve might mean that needs replaced too. So that head's going to the machine shop hopefully Monday to see what they can do. I've got other stuff to work on in the meantime.

I don't know if the guide was too tight to begin with, but the others are tight enough to draw a vaccuum when I slide the valve out, and not so tight they won't slide up and down like they should. So those all seem OK.
 
Hmmm. I wonder what they're catching on.



Never mind, I figured it out - unless you put the fuel pump eccentric on the cam isn't limited in the block like it should be. The lifters were hitting the bearing journal.

There are still some sticky holes, not sure what I'm going to do about those.

The ones that were going up and down were rotating so that's good. On some of the sticky ones I could hold my finger on them and turn the cam at the same time and they would rotate. On others I couldn't reach and turn.
 
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This lifter bore thing makes me a little sad, angry or something. The machine shop was supposed to clean those up but didn't. The tool guaranteed to fix it makes it seem like I'm going to need to take the bottom end back apart.



I just didn't know.
 
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RUSTY Cuda said:
with these cars the BS never ends!
Click to expand...
No kidding. It's the hobby of a lifetime because it's never ending.

From the Hughes website on their description of a burnishing ball:

"This tool is used to smooth and straighten the lifter bores during an engine rebuild. This promotes lifter rotation and is one of your best guarantees for a successful camshaft break-in. We use this tool on every cylinder block that goes through our shop. It is driven through the lifter bores with a slide hammer (not included). Fits all Small Block and Big Block engines. Note: We can now supply this same high quality burnishing tool for your friends with Fords and Chevy's. Have them give us a call."

I've got the cam back out and there is no way on earth you're going to get a slide hammer in from the bottom so you would have to pull it through from the top. So I'll call them tomorrow to ask.

Also kind of wondering how much of a mess using the air hammer like in the video would be. That's the only reason I don't want to drive the ball through from the top.
 
OK, I found that the burnishing ball doesn't remove any metal so you can use it on an assembled engine. I actually found one guy saying he did it with the cam in.

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There's a long shaft with this one, and a slide hammer handle. You drive the ball through from the top with a hammer, then use the slide hammer handle to pull it back out. No fuss no muss. Get the whole setup for $20 more than just the ball at other places. Shipping is fair too, Fed-Ex 2-day is only $20.


Some people get nickel and dimed to death, but this project is hundred-dollar-ing me to death.

I've got to go to the machine shop to get that valve guide fixed, he might have a kit but is it worth loading up and hauling it up there? No. Doubtful he's in the business of loaning tools, I know I wouldn't be so it'd be awkward to even ask.

Was looking for a snap-on sticker I remembered, found this even better ...

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Well heck, they don't ship fast. 2-day shipping gets me the part Monday after next. Exploring other options, but at least this seems like it will work.

And FWIW since I didn't mention it, there are four holes where the lifter goes up but doesn't come back down, and two of those are "notchy" and need repaired, for confidence at break-in if nothing else. But I'm mostly sure this is a needed thing.

All the other lifters go up and down clickety-clack and spin just fine.
 
I just confirmed with the machinist that Goodson really is that slow to ship, and he hadn't heard of a burnishing ball before

Said they would've bead blasted the block and that can cause a "catch" at the bottom of the lifter bore, that but usually honing fixes it. I don't feel a ridge or anything. Apparently they can just go out of round.

He recommended working them in the bores, maybe very lightly trying a piece of emory cloth at the very bottom.

Also the head is fixed so I got that going for me.
 
This is one of the sticky bores. No surprise that there's material missing - it seems pretty common - and of course that hole is the one that gives me the most trouble.

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I might be able to come up from the bottom and spare that thin edge the shock of starting the ball there. It also seems like the "catch" is toward the bottom, not the top.

Now to see how long it takes for the shipment to arrive.

I'm thinking about bringing the duster here and taking road runner parts there, so I can start taking it apart and have it ready for the engine. Once I get past this, I think it's mostly a matter of bolting parts on so it should go fairly fast.
 
I've never really had issue with Goodson's speed of shipping, but they're also pretty close to me. As such, just about anything they send me is next day, even if it's sent ground. Very high-quality stuff in my experience.

In your photo, the lifter bore appears to have a bur or peen hanging into the bore inside the red-circled area. I'm assuming that's an optical delusion because of the low spot. I had problems with my block and sticky lifters, but it was partially caused by Lubri-Plate assembly grease petrifying into solid rock. I did what your machinist said with some old hydraulic lifters and got them moving cleanly. That being said, rollers don't need to rotate so it wasn't as much of a concern for me.
 
I worked that one again at lunch and it seems to want to fall straight through but I also know if it won't ride up and down on it's own, even with the valve pushing it back down, it's eventually going to stop spinning. This seems like a good thing to do no matter what.

The only thing I see that looks like it hangs into the bore is right at the very top left where the casting is chipped and I think that is just a shadow.

I don't remember which ones it was but I do remember at least one old lifter that was hard to get out so I suspect some are out of round. I've had fingers all around inside all of them and never felt anything that would catch a lifter.
 
Circle within the circle, yo:

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If it moves freely through its bore, it's good. Unless it rocks quite a bit, run it.

This is where checking springs are nice. They only exert light pressure but you can verify both the lifter's vertical movement and its rotation. Yes, it's a lot of screwing around, but if you're paranoid...
 
It's easy-peasy. The first hole I did (known good) I was able to shove the ball through and pull it back out by hand

For a hammer I used a rubber mallet and was able to hold the slide hammer by the sliding weight to drive it in, then one-hand it back out so it went way too quickly for what this cost me. :D

The ones I expected to be tighter did seem that way. The chipped casting wasn't a factor at all.

For anyone wondering "what if you drive it in crooked?", well, it's round and it tends to center itself. You'd have to have a PhD in screwing things up to screw it up. I've only got a Master's.
 
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